Neuroimaging

Neuroimaging data in open science is organised around a shared standard, a network of repositories, and a growing library of open cohort datasets.

Standards and harmonisation

BIDS is the organising standard for neuroimaging datasets, governing file structure and metadata across MRI, PET, and related modalities. Scanner output arrives in DICOM format. The standard pathway is to extract to NIfTI using dcm2niix before organising with BIDS. CATI handles multisite MRI harmonisation for large cohort studies across French and European sites, ensuring protocol consistency and quality control across heterogeneous acquisition environments.

Data archives

Neuroimaging data is deposited across repositories depending on access policy, format, and geography. OpenNeuro hosts open BIDS-formatted datasets spanning MRI, PET, EEG, MEG, and iEEG under open licences. Public-nEUro provides a GDPR-compliant European option for human neuroimaging in BIDS format. EBRAINS accepts BIDS and NWB data within its federated EU brain research infrastructure. G-Node offers long-term GDPR-compliant storage for German and European neuroimaging and electrophysiology data. NeuroVault specialises in statistical maps, parcellations, and brain atlases from published studies. For data that does not conform to domain formats, Zenodo accepts any file format. FAIRsharing and re3data index further options.

Federated search and analysis

Neuroimaging has dedicated infrastructure for federated search and analysis that complements centralised deposit. Neurobagel enables participant-level cohort search across distributed BIDS datasets without moving the data, supporting compliance with data protection requirements for studies where full open deposit is not feasible. BrainLife.io provides cloud-based analysis of BIDS datasets with automatic provenance tracking and reproducible pipeline execution. The choice between centralised deposit and federated approaches depends primarily on data sensitivity: fully anonymised data suits open centralised repositories, while identifiable or sensitive data suits federated or controlled-access models.

Notable open datasets

• Human Connectome Project (HCP) mapped structural and functional connectivity in 1,200 healthy adults using multimodal MRI and MEG.
• ADNI is the landmark longitudinal neuroimaging and biomarker study across normal ageing, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease.
• ABCD Study follows over 11,500 children from ages 9 to 10 into early adulthood with annual MRI, task-based fMRI, and cognitive assessments.
• Cam-CAN provides MRI and MEG data from 700 healthy adults spanning the full adult lifespan.
• NKI-RS is a community-ascertained lifespan sample with MRI, EEG, and phenotypic data from over 1,000 participants.
• OASIS covers normal ageing and Alzheimer’s disease across MRI and PET, with three open releases.
• Rotterdam Study is a population-based cohort integrating neuroimaging with genetics and lifestyle data from over 15,000 participants in the Netherlands.

Large-scale federated meta-analysis across these and other cohorts is coordinated through the ENIGMA Consortium.

For the reproducibility and provenance tools that apply to neuroimaging workflows, see Reproducibility. For a step-by-step guide to formatting and depositing a neuroimaging dataset, see Sharing your data.